Page 78 of Above All Else

“Thanks. Twenty-eight-hour days will do that to you.”

“Damn, man, take a break.”

“I was working on it. There are a few things I need to take care of before I head home and crash.”

“Okay, well, I won’t keep you long. I took the day yesterday and looked into a few homes within a ten-mile radius.”

I nodded. “And? Did you strike gold?”

“Absolutely.” He paused—a keyboard clacking in the background. “There is a small cottage coming onto the market in a few days. The owners were an elderly couple who have decided Florida was better during the winters. Helps their arthritis or something—“

“How do you have their life story?” I leaned my head back against my chair and closed my eyes. “On second thought, I don’t care. Continue.”

Rooster laughed into the phone, making me pull it away from my ear, put it on speaker, and drop it on my desk.

“It’s simple, easy to maintain, and it’s up the road from your parents. What do you say? Want to look at it?”

“How many rooms?”

“Two beds, one bath. Sits on a tenth of an acre.”

“Make an offer.”

“You don’t want to see it?”

I sighed and ran my hand down my face, scrubbing the exhaustion from my eyes. “I trust you. Does it need any updates? Repairs?”

“No. In good working order. They put in a new kitchen a few years back.”

Nodding, I sat up in my chair and spun it toward the desk, resting my elbows on the surface. “Make them an offer they can’t refuse.”

“You got it. Anything else?”

“See if they’ll do an expedited closing.”

“On it.”

“Thanks, Rooster.”

I hung up and dropped my head into my hands, rubbing my fingers against my scalp, my feet and knees aching.

Knock. Knock.

I glanced up at my office door.

“Dr. Morgan, the DA wants that toxicology report submitted for analysis two weeks ago. I can’t seem to find it, and since the system isn’t back up yet, I didn’t know what to tell them.” Tina drew her brows together as though she expected an outburst.

“Tell them they’ll have to wait a little longer. Get a tech to call over to the lab and see if they can fax a copy of the reports if nothing else.”

“Yes, sir.”

She nodded with a pinched smile and stepped out into the swimming chaos.

What is June doing?

I grabbed my phone and dropped it back on the desk.

She doesn’t have a phone.

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